George I of Great Britain

George I (Georg Ludwig) (28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) from 23 January 1698, and King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 1 August 1714, until his death. He was also the Archbannerbearer (afterwards Archtreasurer) and a Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. George I, the first Hanoverian monarch of Great Britain and Ireland, was not a fluent speaker of the English language; instead, he spoke his native German, and was for this ridiculed by his British subjects. During his reign, the powers of the monarchy found themselves diminished; the modern system of government by a Cabinet underwent development. During the later years of his reign, actual power was held by a de facto Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole.

Early years

George was born on 28 May 1660 in Hanover, Germany. He was the eldest son of Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, a German prince, and of his wife, Sophia. Duke George of Brunswick-Lüneburg, as he was then known, was the heir-apparent to his father's German territory.

Related Topics:
28 May - Hanover, Germany - Ernst August, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg - Sophia

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In 1682, George married his first cousin, the Princess Sophia of Celle, who was the only child of his father's elder brother. They had two children, George (b. 1683) and Sophia Dorothea (b. 1687). The couple were however soon estranged; George preferred the society of his mistress, Ehrengard Melusine von der Schulenburg, whom he later created Duchess of Munster and Kendal in Great Britain, and by whom he had at least three illegitimate children.

Related Topics:
1682 - Princess Sophia of Celle - George - 1683 - Sophia Dorothea - 1687 - Ehrengard Melusine von der Schulenburg

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Sophia, meanwhile, had her own romantic connection with the Swedish Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck. Threatened with the scandal of an elopement, the Hanoverian court ordered the lovers to desist, and George appears to have countenanced a plan to murder Königsmarck. The count was killed in July 1694, and his body was then thrown into a river. The murder appears to have been committed by four of George's courtiers, one of whom is said to have been paid the enormous sum of 150,000 talers, which in that day was about one hundred times the annual salary of the highest-paid minister.

Related Topics:
Swedish - Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck - July - Taler

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George's marriage to Sophia was dissolved, not on the grounds that either of them committed adultery, but on the grounds that Sophia had "abandoned" her husband. With the concurrence of her father, George had Sophia imprisoned in the Castle of Ahlden in her native Celle. She was denied access to her children and her father, and forbidden to remarry. She was however endowed with an income, establishment and servants, and was allowed to ride in a carriage outside her castle, albeit under supervision.

Related Topics:
Ahlden - Celle

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